---
title: apartheid — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «apartheid» in the school dictionary: Apartheid was a system of laws in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s that kept people apart by race and gave white people power and rights that Black and other people of colour were denied. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics
---

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# apartheid

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Apartheid, early 1990s, white people, system, Black children, Nelson · **What happens:** be, keep, give, power, deny, use · **To what, where:** system, 1948, people, Black, Apartheid, groups · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«apartheid» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [apartheid in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/apartheid.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Apartheid was a system of laws in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s that kept people apart by race and gave white people power and rights that Black and other people of colour were denied.

<!-- fold The tree, 37 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apartheid:m1:1
# text = Apartheid was a system of laws in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s that kept people apart by race and gave white people power and rights that Black and other people of colour were denied.
1	Apartheid	Apartheid	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	system	system	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	laws	law	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	South	South	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	Africa	Africa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	from	from	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	1948	1948	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	nmod	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	1990s	1990s	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan|NumForm=Combi|NumType=Card	11	nmod	_	_
16	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	17	nsubj	_	_
17	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	acl:relcl	_	_
18	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	obj	_	_
19	apart	apart	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
20	by	by	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
21	race	race	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	_
22	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
23	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	17	conj	_	_
24	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	amod	_	_
25	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	nsubj	_	_
26	power	power	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obj	_	_
27	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	28	cc	_	_
28	rights	right	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	conj	_	_
29	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	37	obj	_	_
30	Black	Black	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	37	nsubj:pass	_	_
31	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	33	cc	_	_
32	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	33	amod	_	_
33	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	30	conj	_	_
34	of	of	ADP	IN	_	35	case	_	_
35	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	33	nmod	_	_
36	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	37	aux:pass	_	_
37	denied	deny	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	28	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
38	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | Apartheid | a system |  | 1948 to the early 1990s |  | of laws in South Africa | tree rules |
| 2 | **keep** | past | the early 1990s | people |  |  |  | by race; apart *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent people=Theme by race=Location |
| 3 | **give** | past | the early 1990s *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn break\_down-45.8 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 4 | **power** |  | white people |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **deny** | past · passive |  | Black and other people of colour |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V NP to be NP»: subject=Theme that=Eventuality |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Apartheid is also used for any system that separates and treats groups of people unequally by law.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apartheid:m2:1
# text = Apartheid is also used for any system that separates and treats groups of people unequally by law.
1	Apartheid	apartheid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	7	det	_	_
7	system	system	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	separates	separate	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	treats	treat	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	conj	_	_
12	groups	group	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nmod	_	_
15	unequally	unequally	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
16	by	by	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	law	law	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | present · passive |  | Apartheid |  |  |  | for any system | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP PP.predicate»: subject=Theme for system=Eventuality |
| 2 | **separate** | present | any system |  |  |  |  |  | vn separate-23.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **treat** | present | any system *not said here* | groups of people |  |  |  | by law; unequally *property* | vn equip-13.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent group=Recipient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Under apartheid, Black and white children went to separate schools.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apartheid:x1:1
# text = Under apartheid, Black and white children went to separate schools.
1	Under	under	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	apartheid	apartheid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
7	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
8	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	separate	separate	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	schools	school	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | past | Black children |  |  | apartheid |  | to separate schools | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to school=Initial\_Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nelson Mandela fought against apartheid.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apartheid:x2:1
# text = Nelson Mandela fought against apartheid.
1	Nelson	Nelson	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	Mandela	Mandela	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	flat	_	_
3	fought	fight	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	against	against	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	apartheid	apartheid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fight** | past | Nelson |  |  |  |  | against apartheid | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Apartheid ended in the early 1990s, and free elections were held in 1994.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apartheid:x3:1
# text = Apartheid ended in the early 1990s, and free elections were held in 1994.
1	Apartheid	Apartheid	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	ended	end	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	1990s	1990s	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan|NumForm=Combi|NumType=Card	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
9	free	free	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	elections	election	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
11	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux:pass	_	_
12	held	hold	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	1994	1994	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **end** | past | Apartheid |  |  | the early 1990s |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 2 | **hold** | past · passive |  | free elections |  | 1994 |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: subject=Theme in 1994=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Many countries refused to trade with South Africa because of apartheid.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apartheid:x4:1
# text = Many countries refused to trade with South Africa because of apartheid.
1	Many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	countries	country	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	refused	refuse	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	trade	trade	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	South	South	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	Africa	Africa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	because	because	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	11	case	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	fixed	_	_
11	apartheid	apartheid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **refuse** | past | Many countries |  |  |  |  |  | vn reject-77.2 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **trade** | to-infinitive | Many countries *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with South Africa; because apartheid | vn exchange-13.6.1 «NP V NP PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent with africa=Co-Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Signs under apartheid said «Whites only».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apartheid:x5:1
# text = Signs under apartheid said «Whites only».
1	Signs	sign	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	under	under	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	apartheid	apartheid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
4	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	Whites	white	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
7	only	only	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Signs under apartheid |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **white** *in a quote* | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
People around the world protested against apartheid.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apartheid:x6:1
# text = People around the world protested against apartheid.
1	People	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
2	around	around	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	world	world	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
5	protested	protest	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	against	against	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	apartheid	apartheid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **protest** *speech: disagree* | past | People around the world |  |  |  |  | against apartheid | vn rebel-71.2-2 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent against apartheid=Topic |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We learned how apartheid was unfair and cruel.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apartheid:x7:1
# text = We learned how apartheid was unfair and cruel.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	learned	learn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
4	apartheid	apartheid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	unfair	unfair	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	cruel	cruel	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **learn** | past | We |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | past | apartheid |  |  |  |  | unfair *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** |  | apartheid *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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